Guillaume Gonnet, Côtes du Rhône Villages Rouge, Le Hardi, Southern Rhône, France, 2022

Producer Profile

The energetic and charismatic Guillaume Gonnet is not your average Rhône winemaker. Extremely open in his attitude, his curious, boundary challenging approach extends beyond wine.

He travelled to the far ends of the earth, revelling in the opportunity to surf some of the best waves in the world while learning his craft in various Australian and New Zealand regions. Returning to the Rhône, now with his Australian wife Kelly, Guillaume has shown similar energy for his family estate and for his own nascent project. This land locked surfer may be miles from the ocean but is happily riding the wave of new found enthusiasm for Grenache based wines. Pursuing biodynamics wherever possible, allowing his fruit to express itself freely through hands-off winemaking and displaying his fascination for the varying soils of the Rhône through his diverse range of wines, he's just the sort of restless creative that we love to work with.

Viticulture

Planted on a South facing plateau the soil structure is made up of round pebbles on the surface, red clay and limestone soil. Average vine age is 50 years old planted at a density of 4000 vines per HA.

Winemaking

A traditional fermentation, and ageing for 12 months in stainless steel and concrete.

Oak Ageing

No oak ageing

Tasting Note

Often described as a “Baby Châteauneuf du Pape”, this wine is rich, complex, yet approachable. Red and dark fruits, cherries, spices and liquorice on the nose and palate.

Food Matching

Barbequed duck or lamb, lovely with French style cheeses.

Awards

Wine Spectator 89 Points
Juicy fruit -- blackberry puree, raspberry fruit leather and boysenberry -- shows beautiful purity and good structure, tied together with slightly firm tannins and plenty of graphite notes. Fresh and vibrant, showing accents of licorice and smoked herbs on the clean, medium-bodied finish. Grenache and Syrah. Drink now through 2027. 10,000 cases made, 5,000 cases imported. 89 Points, 2024.
Wine Advocate 89-91 Points
An 80-20 blend of Grenache and Syrah from Signargues, the tank-aged 2022 Cotes du Rhone Villages Le Hardi delivers scents of sun-warmed stones, dried spices and ripe cherries. It's medium to full-bodied in the mouth, showing ample concentration and richness, then finishing long, with softly dusty tannins. 88-91 Points, JC, 2024.